I saw that this theremin forum has yet to be entered into.
So, I'm honored to be the first one to tiptoe in, and my
hope is to get the ball rolling.

All my mind keeps singing to me is from Pink Floyd's
THE WALL: "Is There Anybody Out There?"

I know you are. since Electro Music 2005 I've met three
theremin players, one of whom I've gotten together with
twice to attempt to play together.

If anyone's attending the Ether Music Festival in
Asheville this August, I'd be really interested to talk to
you about the experience -- unfortunately, I'm unable to
go... why? See the CONCERTS Forum. My show
UNHOLY SECRETS OF THE THEREMIN opens August 13th
and until then, I'm in rehearsals.

Get the ball rolling? Your performance at EM05 certainly did just that (as well as the recent Moog documentary). A few days ago I purchased a 50th Anniversary Etherwave. I'm absolutely in love with it and hope to one day own the EW-Pro. Any insight, tips, etc. you would like to contribute would be very much appreciated.
I visited this forum earlier today, prior to this post and was reluctant to post since I would not yet consider myself a "theremin player" but I'm on way. Your concert in August sounds very interesting and as far as EtherFest, I'm only an hour away. I'm planning on going the final day and will let you know how it went._________________"Oh, it's yours? Then go ahead and kick the shit out of it..." as said to Michael Victor by Howard Moscovitz 06/05/05

Great that you started. Hypnotique requested it. She mentioned there would be a lot of interest from people on Theremin email lists. I figure it's a great thing to have here. I hope it attracts some more interesting electro-musicians._________________--Howard
my music and other stuff

Get the ball rolling? Your performance at EM05 certainly did just that (as well as the recent Moog documentary). A few days ago I purchased a 50th Anniversary Etherwave. I'm absolutely in love with it and hope to one day own the EW-Pro. Any insight, tips, etc. you would like to contribute would be very much appreciated.
I visited this forum earlier today, prior to this post and was reluctant to post since I would not yet consider myself a "theremin player" but I'm on way. Your concert in August sounds very interesting and as far as EtherFest, I'm only an hour away. I'm planning on going the final day and will let you know how it went.

Congratulations on your purchase. My standard Etherwave served me (and still does) well for seven years. When I bought the Pro, it was a huge extravagance. But, I'm glad I did -- because since that time, the price has jumped from its original $995 to about $1500!

As for tips, I definitely do have a few. First, EXPERIMENT! Never listen to anybody who tells you to play it using the technique of someone else. People see footage of Clara Rockmore and think they've got to use her fingering method, but the truth is, everyone's fingers are different lengths, widths and thicknesses. Since starting I have gone through five different playing techniques. When I began, I always played sitting down, who knows why? It felt good! AND, I played LATERALLY -- that is, my hand came from the RIGHT SIDE to the pitch antenna. WHY? Because that's the way I hit the most accurate pitches. So, my first tip is DO WHAT'S COMFORTABLE. Your playing method will evolve over time.

SECOND -- the notion that it's the most difficult instrument in the world to play is a notion that, in my view, is being perpetuated by the theremin community at large. If there is any real obstacle it is a psychological one -- we are used to TOUCHING things. But even though playing the theremin involves somehow finding the notes in the air, THE NOTES ARE THERE. All you have to do is develop the muscle memory and your body will find the pitches on its own.

THIRD -- I believe that people grow frustrated with the instrument because we make the mistake of wanting to accomplish PLAYING THE MELODY, PLAYING THE RYTHYM, and PLAYING WITH EXPRESSION all at once. By treating each of those three elemtns as a separate approach, you can noticeably improve your playing in as little as FIFTEEN MINUTES.
Choose a song you like. A song you know backwards and forwards. NOW-- you already know the rythym, so play JUST THE RYTHYM! Forget about the right notes. Just execute the RYTHYM as best you can and play ANY NOTE YOU WANT, NO MATTER HOW OFF PITCH. NEXT -- you already know the melody, correct? So, play ONLY the melody regardless of the rythym AND regardless of the volume antenna. DO NOT try to atriculate the notes. Just go very slowly and slide from one pitch to another, but make sure that you find the CENTER of each pitch -- that is, make sure that you hit the true note before moving on to the next note. FINALLY -- play the articulation WITHOUT THE MELODY. this is actually a crossover into the rythym again, BUT its focus is different: Play ONLY ONE PITCH (the same note), and using the volume and your left hand, play that one note as if you were playing the entire song with as much clarity and expression as possible. GO SLOWLY, make your best effort. This whole process should take about fifteen minutes.

NOW -- go take a break. At least ten minutes. Clear your head. Get away from the instrument. When you come back, relax, take a deep breath, and play the song as well as you can. I believe you will be amazed at the leap in your ability.

Hypnotique requested it. She mentioned there would be a lot of interest from people on Theremin email lists. I figure it's a great thing to have here. I hope it attracts some more interesting electro-musicians.

The Etherwave Pro is a lovely bit of kit - I was lucky enough to have had the chance to use one of the earliest ones off the factory line for some demonstration concerts for Bob Moog last year. When I first tried it though, I didn't like it. My T Vox Tour is quite a lovely bit of kit, too, and that whole three ranges thing I did not like. But by the end of the week I was so sad to give it back! I've played the Series 11 Moog, Moog Etherwave, and T Vox Tour and it's the best of all of those. The only ones I haven't tried are the Ethervox and Wavefront Pro. I've heard they are both pretty excellent.

The Etherwave Pro has some lovely tones, and is probably the best instrument on the market today, very playable. Although I would argue, having taken it long haul, not particularly portable as it's promoted as bieng. Jason @ thereminworld.com posted a fab review on his site of it:
http://www.thereminworld.com/etherwaveproreview.asp
I have some demo sound files I recorded of it at home- most put those on line at some stage.

I never made it to Asheville, I think many players also didn't make it there. Hard place for us Europeans to get to on a budget. Anyone got any news from the festival?

So what is this Secrets of the Theremin show? Do tell all - sounds intriguing!_________________www.hypnotique.net
Tip of the day: KILL ALL YOUR ENEMIES

I want to write you a lengthier message, but for now, I can tell you that the show, UNHOLY SECRETS OF THE THEREMIN, has its final performance on Saturday afternoon. It's been extremely well received, and shortly, I'll be replacing the samples of theremin playing on my web site with selections from the show.

You can see a bit of what it was all about and see excerpts of actual reveiws by going to:

Also, you can hear actual samples (I've been to your site and listened extensively to a lot of your fabulous work) -- just go to the THEREMIN page on the same website and click on LISTEN -- from there you can choose a selection. Keep on the lookout for new selections from the show, coming soon.

Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2005 7:19 pm Post subject:
Did you Make It To EtherMusic 2005?

RFBB wrote:

Get the ball rolling? Your performance at EM05 certainly did just that (as well as the recent Moog documentary). A few days ago I purchased a 50th Anniversary Etherwave. I'm absolutely in love with it and hope to one day own the EW-Pro. Any insight, tips, etc. you would like to contribute would be very much appreciated.
I visited this forum earlier today, prior to this post and was reluctant to post since I would not yet consider myself a "theremin player" but I'm on way. Your concert in August sounds very interesting and as far as EtherFest, I'm only an hour away. I'm planning on going the final day and will let you know how it went.

If you did, I would love to hear about it. Apparently, it's going to be held again in the summer of 2006, and I'm going to do everything I can in order to be there.

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